Obscurity, and undisturbed repose.
-Knowledge, methinks, in these disordered times, Should be allowed a privilege to have Her anchorites, like piety of old;
Men, who, from faction sacred, and unstained By war, might, if so minded, turn aside Uncensured, and subsist, a scattered few Living to God and nature, and content With that communion. Consecrated be The spots where such abide! But happier still The Man, whom, furthermore, a hope attends That meditation and research may guide His privacy to principles and powers Discovered or invented; or set forth,
Through his acquaintance with the ways of truth, In lucid order; so that, when his course Is run, some faithful eulogist may say, He sought not praise, and praise did overlook His unobtrusive merit; but his life, Sweet to himself, was exercised in good That shall survive his name and memory.
Acknowledgments of gratitude sincere Accompanied these musings; fervent thanks For my own peaceful lot and happy choice; A choice that from the passions of the world Withdrew, and fixed me in a still retreat; Sheltered, but not to social duties lost, Secluded, but not buried; and with song Cheering my days, and with industrious thought; With the ever-welcome company of books; With virtuous friendship's soul-sustaining aid, And with the blessings of domestic love.
Thus occupied in mind I paced along, Following the rugged road, by sledge or wheel Worn in the moorland, till I overtook My two Associates, in the morning sunshine
Halting together on a rocky knoll, Whence the bare road descended rapidly To the green meadows of another vale.
Here did our pensive Host put forth his hand In sign of farewell. “Nay,” the old Man said, "The fragrant air its coolness still retains; The herds and flocks are yet abroad to crop The dewy grass; you cannot leave us now, We must not part at this inviting hour." He yielded, though reluctant; for his mind Instinctively disposed him to retire
To his own covert; as a billow, heaved Upon the beach, rolls back into the sea. -So we descend; and winding round a rock Attain a point that showed the valley-stretched In length before us; and, not distant far, Upon a rising ground a grey church-tower, Whose battlements were screened by tufted trees. And towards a crystal Mere, that lay beyond Among steep hills and woods embosomed, flowed A copious stream with boldly-winding course; Here traceable, there hidden-there again To sight restored, and glittering in the sun. On the stream's bank, and every where, appeared Fair dwellings, single, or in social knots; Some scattered o'er the level, others perched On the hill sides, a cheerful quiet scene, Now in its morning purity arrayed.
"As 'mid some happy valley of the Alps," Said I, " once happy, ere tyrannic power, Wantonly breaking in upon the Swiss, Destroyed their unoffending commonwealth, A popular equality reigns here,
Save for yon stately House beneath whose roof A rural lord might dwell."-"No feudal pomp, Or power," replied the Wanderer, "to that House
Belongs, but there in his allotted Home Abides, from year to year, a genuine Priest, The shepherd of his flock; or, as a king Is styled, when most affectionately praised, The father of his people. Such is he; And rich and poor, and young and old, rejoice Under his spiritual sway. He hath vouchsafed To me some portion of a kind regard; And something also of his inner mind Hath he imparted-but I speak of him As he is known to all.
The calm delights Of unambitious piety he chose,
And learning's solid dignity; though born Of knightly race, nor wanting powerful friends. Hither, in prime of manhood, he withdrew From academic bowers. He loved the spot- Who does not love his native soil ?-he prized The ancient rural character, composed Of simple manners, feelings unsupprest
And undisguised, and strong and serious thought; A character reflected in himself,
With such embellishment as well beseems His rank and sacred function. This deep vale Winds far in reaches hidden from our sight, And one a turreted manorial hall
Adorns, in which the good Man's ancestors Have dwelt through ages-Patrons of this Cure. To them, and to his own judicious pains, The Vicar's dwelling, and the whole domain, Owes that presiding aspect which might well Attract your notice; statelier than could else Have been bestowed, through course of common chance,
On an unwealthy mountain Benefice."
This said, oft pausing, we pursued our way; Nor reached the village-churchyard till the sun
Travelling at steadier pace than ours, had risen Above the summits of the highest hills, And round our path darted oppressive beams.
As chanced, the portals of the sacred Pile Stood open; and we entered. On my frame, At such transition from the fervid air,
A grateful coolness fell, that seemed to strike The heart, in concert with that temperate awe And natural reverence which the place inspired. Not raised in nice proportions was the pile, But large and massy; for duration built; With pillars crowded, and the roof upheld By naked rafters intricately crossed,
Like leafless underboughs, in some thick wood, All withered by the depth of shade above. Admonitory texts inscribed the walls, Each, in its ornamental scroll, enclosed; Each also crowned with winged heads-a pair Of rudely-painted Cherubim. The floor Of nave and aisle, in unpretending guise, Was occupied by oaken benches ranged In seemly rows; the chancel only showed Some vain distinctions, marks of earthly state By immemorial privilege allowed; Though with the Encincture's special sanctity But ill according. An heraldic shield, Varying its tincture with the changeful light, Imbued the altar-window; fixed aloft A faded hatchment hung, and one by time Yet undiscoloured. A capacious pew
Of sculptured oak stood here, with drapery lined; And marble monuments were here displayed Thronging the walls; and on the floor beneath Sepulchral stones appeared, with emblems graven And foot-worn epitaphs, and some with small And shining effigies of brass inlaid.
The tribute by these various records claimed, Duly we paid, each after each, and read The ordinary chronicle of birth, Office, alliance, and promotion—all Ending in dust; of upright magistrates, Grave doctors strenuous for the mother-church, And uncorrupted senators, alike
To king and people true. A brazen plate, Not easily deciphered, told of one
Whose course of earthly honour was begun In quality of page among the train
Of the eighth Henry, when he crossed the seas His royal state to show, and prove his strength In tournament, upon the fields of France. Another tablet registered the death,
And praised the gallant bearing, of a Knight Tried in the sea-fights of the second Charles. Near this brave Knight his Father lay entombed : And, to the silent language giving voice, I read,-how in his manhood's earlier day He, 'mid the afflictions of intestine war And rightful government subverted, found One only solace-that he had espoused A virtuous Lady tenderly beloved For her benign perfections; and yet more Endeared to him, for this, that, in her state Of wedlock richly crowned with Heaven's regard, She with a numerous issue filled his house, Who throve, like plants, uninjured by the storm That laid their country waste. No need to speak Of less particular notices assigned
To Youth or Maiden gone before their time, And Matrons and unwedded Sisters old; Whose charity and goodness were rehearsed In modest panegyric.
What would they tell?" said I,-but, from the task Of puzzling out that faded narrative,
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